Netflix

[HaagenDazs]

Just canceled my Netflix subscription.  We've had it for years.  We weren't spending tons of cash on it ($5 per month) but we found ourselves going sometimes 6 or 8 weeks without watching the movie.  On top of that I found it frustrating to browse available movies on their site.  It seems that they would keep old, boring movies on their "New Releases" category for way too long.  Now with those dollar a day kiosks at grocery stores (Kroger has the Red thingy and Publix is now doing Blockbuster) it seems like if we want to watch a movie we can get it there and pay less, or if we're really lazy and/or it's late we can always "splurge" and buy an OnDemand movie.

[terry]

Wow!

This is the first time I heard of anyone canceling their subscription. I just started mine about three months ago and wonder why I didn't do this before.

I guess since I work less, I have a lot of catching up to do. I missed an entire seven years worth of TV shows.

I also discovered Hulu and Hulu has some things that are not available on Netflix.

My queue on Netflix is over 200 discs/movies long. It's going to take me a few years to go through.

I was talking to a co-worker about this subject yesterday and he told me that I have way too much time on my hands now. For example, I used to mostly lurk, now I am posting more.

[LizR]

I'm suprised too. We use Netflix instant play almost exclusively now instead of the disc queue, along with Hulu, and between those two and the Comedy Central site, we don't have any need for cable at all. Lots cheaper, and I still get to say that I have never lived in a house with cable!

[Northside Food]

Yeah, we stream stuff off of it almost every night. I don't think I'll ever buy a DVD again.

[LizR]

Just got finished watching a couple of Bourdains on NF. I could see that if one watched everything on cable when it came out, then Netflix might make much less sense. But we don't mind being perpetually behind on things like Mad Men, Rescue Me, Big Love, etc., so it works for us.

[Minerva]

I was gifted with a year of NetFlix a few years back. Once that free subscription ran out I didn't renew. My time (and inclination) is such that I may go a month or more without watching a complete movie.

On Demand is much much more convenient for me, and I can catch up on TV shows and documentary feature films as well as movies. And the SO, who doesn't always agree with my viewing choices, can watch whatever movie/show he wants On Demand in another room. So NetFlix isn't our best lifestyle choice.

[KoPP]

I would like to get the Netflix appliance (or a TV with the Netflix widget) to use them for on-demand, since a lot of the stuff I want to see is usually pretty old (Kurosawa, Ford, etc.) The only reason I have HBO is to watch the specials - they're movie offerings are increasingly mundane.

[HaagenDazs]

There are certainly good things about it - we had a subscription for 6 or 7 years - but the benefits of other rental methods outweigh the cost (however minimal) of keeping Netflix.  Most of you guys are using the instant streaming feature and we didn't use that option, so I can't comment there. 

[Larkemon]

There are certainly good things about it - we had a subscription for 6 or 7 years - but the benefits of other rental methods outweigh the cost (however minimal) of keeping Netflix.  Most of you guys are using the instant streaming feature and we didn't use that option, so I can't comment there. 

If it weren't for the instant streaming, it wouldn't be worth it for me either.  Have you tried the streaming?  They are about to add a huge catalog of movies starting beginning year.

[Lorenzo]

We use Netflix instant streaming to watch episodes old TV shows, among other things.  I don't know anything about Hulu.  And we don't have cable.

[terry]

Hulu is great.

Just started watching Zatoichi on it. Netflix does not have these episodes.

[KoPP]

Hulu is great.

Just started watching Zatoichi on it. Netflix does not have these episodes.

Yeah, the old ones - the new one isn't available. I like the old movies, but the new version has a lot more...violence...

[KoPP]

...and my alltime favorite Japanese movie series "Female Ninja Magic". And yes, I'm being sarcastic.

[Lorenzo]

With the new pricing structure announced yesterday, I'm considering canceling my subscription.  I had been getting the $9/month deal that included one disc at a time plus unlimited streaming.  Now they want $16/month for the same thing, or alternatively, choose a disc-only plan at $8/month or a streaming-only plan at $8/month.  We probably stream some old Britcom every night and always have a disc in the queue.  But a lot of what we watch is only available on disc at present.  So I'm considering canceling for the time being and maybe return in a year or so when their streaming library matches their disc library.  There's always Hulu and Redbox.

[HaagenDazs]

No way they'll change your pricing if you're already subscribed.